ADOPTED FAMILY
by cousin D
Summary: ZACK AND IVY GET ADOPTED


ADOPTED FAMILY  
  
  
Written by Cousin D  
These characters are not mine. Pity.  
  
  
Ivy and Zack sat in head quarters, stunned. They had been silent since the man with short blonde hair and gold rimmed glasses had come to Acme headquarters and demanded that to see the chief.  
  
"They are both minors." The man now told Chief angrily. He had a strange nervous habit of straightening his glasses when he yelled at the chief. "Their parents died nearly twelve years ago and yet you failed to inform child services. They should have been placed in orphanages years ago."  
  
"They don't need an orphanage!" Chief tried to defend his detectives. "There's never been any problem before and their records have been in the government files for years."  
  
The government worker straightened his glasses and said in a bit of an embarrassed voice. "It seems that they may have slipped through the cracks. That doesn't matter now, though." He slammed his papers in his brown briefcase. "They will be taken to the San Francisco orphanage until foster homes can be found for them. One thing is certain; they will not be working for Acme detective agency any more. It is far to dangerous for children to be doing this job."  
  
"What?" Both Zack and Ivy both jumped to their feet in protest.   
  
"You can't do that!" Ivy shouted.   
  
"Actually, I can." The man told her coolly. "You are both orphans." He gestured over one shoulder and two cops came into the room. "If you don't come quietly these officers will escort you to the orphanage."  
  
Ivy looked ready to fight and Zack was scared out of his wits. A brilliant idea struck Chief and he said to Ivy, "Ivy, just go with them for now. I'll think of something." He promised.  
  
Ivy took a moment to let it sink in. She did trust the Chief and stood up from her fighting stance. Zack still looked scared as the officers led them away. Zack walked very close to his sister.  
  
As he watched his favorite detectives' walk away, Chief was reminded that they were still very young. For all of their intelligence, they were still children, a fact that he often forgot. Zack was only fourteen!  
  
As soon as everyone had left Chief called up Carmen's e-mail address.  
  
  
In V.I.L.E. head quarters-  
  
"Carmen! Carmen!" Chief's voice broke into Carmen Sandiago's silence. Surprised at the urgency in his voice, Carmen put down her book and went to he computer in her library.  
  
Chief's face was on the computer screen and he had an odd wild look on his face. He was panicked by something. Carmen frowned.  
  
"What's the matter, Chief?" She asked, feeling strangely like the old days.  
  
"Big, big trouble, that's what. You've gotta help me, Carmen!"  
  
"Now, calm down, Chief." Carmen told him in her usual sensible voice. "Just relax and tell me everything." If Chief was asking her for help then it had to be big.  
  
"Zack and Ivy are out of Acme!"  
  
"What?" Carmen sat forward in her chair. It was the last thing she had expected to hear. "If this is a joke, Chief, then it is in very bad taste."  
  
"No, Carmen, no joke. They were just taken away by child services. They're being put in an orphanage until they can find foster homes for them and they aren't being allowed to come back to Acme until they reach eighteen. That's a year for Ivy and four years for Zack."  
  
Chief was nearly in tears and Carmen knew it was tearing him up to lose his detectives. The dark haired woman sat back in her chair and rested her chin on one hand. It was a sign that she was deep in thought. Her eyes got a far away look for just a moment.   
  
Carmen smiled.  
  
"I have a plan."  
  
Chief sighed with relief and gave her a thankful smile. He knew he could count on her to think of something.  
  
  
San Francisco home for orphaned children-  
  
  
Zack sat in the class with twenty other kids his own age and tried to keep his brain from leaking onto his desk.   
  
This was a nightmare. He wasn't even allowed to call the Chief and tell him how they were. Ivy was going nuts in here and was threatening to run away. Besides all that, there was nothing to exercise his mind. Even the advanced classes were a bore to him.   
  
Zack felt numb from the neck up. His hand absently wrote the answers to the test, almost without him thinking about them. He watched the clouds pass by and wondered if the silly kids around him knew how exciting the world was around them, if they only knew where to look.  
  
"Zack Yeld?" Zack looked up to see Mrs. Jemni, the head mistress of the orphanage standing in the door. Next to her was a very familiar woman in a green dress and her black hair done in a long braid. Her blue eyes sparkled at him and she gave him a closed mouth smile.  
  
Carmen!  
  
Zack stood up and walked over to them. When the class door closed behind them, Mrs. Jemni smiled at Zack. "I'm very happy for you, Zachary. This is Miss Sarah Sands. She wants to adopt both you and your sister."  
  
Zack was shocked into silence. He had been told on his first day here that it was next to impossible that they would both be put in the same foster home. They would likely be separated very soon.   
  
Not knowing how else to react, Zack impulsively threw his arms around Carmen.   
  
Carmen hadn't quite expected this reaction, but she put her arms around Zack, trying to comfort him as best as she could.   
  
Zack whispered, "Thank you, Carmen."  
  
"No problem, Zack." She whispered back. "Just don't give me away until we get Ivy out of here, too."  
  
Mrs. Jemni looked at the two and thought that it was a bit odd. "Do you know each other?" She asked, puzzled at the embrace.  
  
"No." Carmen answered coolly. "I'm sure he's just an affectionate boy, that's all."  
  
Mrs. Jemni reluctantly accepted this as Zack agreed with Carmen's story. They all walked through the orphanage to her Mrs. Jemni's office.   
  
"So, Zack," Carmen asked Zack in a conversational voice. "Where's your sister?"  
  
Zack blushed slightly. "She's been in detention all day for fighting. She got into three fights yesterday. Won all of them, too."  
  
"Detention?" Carmen was shocked to hear this. Ivy? Detention?  
  
Mrs. Jemni heard this and decided that she had better put in something for Ivy. She didn't want Miss Sands to think Ivy was a problem child. Even if the brat was.  
  
"I'm afraid that Ivy's had trouble adjusting to our life here. She has slight difficulties managing her anger and may need some therapy to help her. She's nearly an adult, seventeen, you know, and she resents being here."  
  
Carmen and Zack just looked at each other. They both knew that, like Zack, Ivy was bored here. There was nothing for her to do. No challenge. In that respect, she was very much like Carmen. Carmen rolled her eyes. Therapy, indeed!  
  
Ivy was found in a small room, sitting at a desk, glowering at the wall in front of her. She simply sat with her arms crossed over her chest, glaring as if the wall to blame for her confinement.  
  
"Hello, Ivy." Mrs. Jemni said in a bright voice to get her attention.   
  
Ivy looked at her and smiled slightly when she saw her brother. Her eyes went wide when she saw Carmen with her hand on Zack's shoulder. Fortunately, she knew to keep her mouth shut and stood up quietly.  
  
"Ivy, this is Miss Sands. She wants to adopt you and your brother." Mrs. Jemni told her. "She's going to foster you until we can be sure that it's the right place for you two."  
  
"Excuse me," Carmen interrupted the headmistress. "Can I have a private moment with the children?" She asked in a sweet voice. "I think we should get to know each other for a moment to see if we can get along."  
  
"Well, of coarse." Mrs. Jemni agreed. "I'll just be outside." She gave Ivy a look as if to tell her not to do anything to scare the nice lady off. Ivy rolled her eyes. She knew that she could do very little to scare Carmen.  
  
When the door closed behind the headmistress, Carmen smiled at her detectives. It was strange to see them in school uniforms. Both of them wore white shirts with gray. Ivy had on a gray skirt to her knees and Zack had on slacks so new that they still had the crease.   
  
"How did you find us, Carmen?"  
  
Carmen shot Ivy a hurt look. "Really, Ivy. How can you ask such a question? With all of my computer information systems, my hundreds of henchmen, and my genius IQ? Plus, Chief told me where you were."  
  
"He did?" Zack said, surprised. "Why?"  
  
Carmen sat on Ivy's desk. "Because he loves you and doesn't want to lose you. He asked me for a favor."  
  
"Are you asking me to believe that Chief wants you to adopt us?" Ivy asked.  
  
Carmen smiled. "In name only, detectives. I'm still the thief and you are the detectives. But you need a guardian and, let's face it, I'm the only adult who's capable of taking care of you two."  
  
There was silence. "So what do we do now?" Ivy asked. "I'll do just about anything to get out of here." She looked at Carmen.  
  
"I'll sign the papers to adopt you. You will be legally Ivy and Zachary Sands and come to live in my home for a while. The state will want to know I am taking care of you properly. When all of the excitement dies down, I go back to V.I.L.E. and you go back to Acme. Everyone's life gets back to normal."  
  
As they walked away from the orphanage and got into Carmen's red Corvette Ivy was happy to see that Carmen had brought them their clothes from Acme and had a link to Chief. It was so good to see him again.  
  
Ivy sat behind Carmen and considered the woman quietly. It was the strangest feeling. Carmen Sandiago was their mother.   
  
Who'd have thought it?  
  
  
END  



End file.
